AROUND THE WORLD

Baucus: Outsourcing of jobs a fact of life

January 14, 2006|By Items compiled from Tribune news services.

BANGALORE, INDIA — U.S. Sen. Max Baucus, the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, said Friday that outsourcing white-collar jobs to low-wage countries such as India has become a global fact of life--and that America must learn to live with it.

During his five-day tour, Baucus of Montana called on India to further open its economy, especially in the agricultural and retail industries, to competition from U.S. companies.

Baucus said a majority of Senate Democrats agreed with him, despite the party's opposition to moving U.S. jobs overseas.